Santiago, May 13th 2016. Viñedo Chadwick 2014, the ultra-premium wine of the Chadwick – Errázuriz family, scored a perfect 100 points from wine critic James Suckling.

This outstanding recognition marks a milestone not only in the history of Viñedo Chadwick but also for the Chilean wine history, as it is the first time a wine from this country has achieved 100 points. This perfect score positions Maipo Alto and Chile among the most prestigious world-class appellations for red wines, such as Bordeaux, Tuscany and Napa.

Following his recent visit to Chile, during which he tasted more than 600 wines from different valleys, international wine critic James Suckling published his article entitled http://www.errazuriz.com/Chile_Evolving_Quality_Wine_World.pdf in which he awarded Viñedo Chadwick 2014 100 points: “Perhaps a sign of Chile truly coming of age is the 100-point rating in this report of the pure Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 Viñedo Chadwick. This is a wine that defines the greatness of Chile with a purity, structure and finesse that competes with the best reds of the world. This is a wine that defines elegance and power at the same time.” Suckling described the wine as “complex aromas of blueberry, blackcurrant and black liquorice. Full bodied yet refined and beautiful with a stunning length and complexity. It has a transparency that shows such greatness and beauty. Half the normal production. Has an energy and brightness. Chile’s first perfect wine and well deserved. Better in 2020.”

Eduardo Chadwick, President of Viñedo Chadwick, was thrilled and commented: “Viñedo Chadwick was created in 1999 as a tribute to my father, Alfonso Chadwick Errázuriz, to showcase the characteristics and true expression of our unique terroir from our home estate in Maipo Alto. Over the past 16 vintages the quality of Viñedo Chadwick has been consistently recognized in blind tastings around the globe, demonstrating its place as a world-class wine. Today we are very honoured that James Suckling has awarded us with his top recognition giving us a perfect 100 score for this beautiful vintage 2014.”

Francisco Baettig, Viñedo Chadwick Head Winemaker, added: “This wine displays a beautiful balance between structure, depth and fruit intensity. Full bodied with firm tannins, this vintage is also perhaps the epitome of purity and freshness of our terroir. I believe it is the greatest expression of Viñedo Chadwick made so far. On this joyful occasion, I want to take the opportunity to recognize the extraordinary team of viticulturists and winemakers who have made this possible. This is a most wonderful recognition of all of these years of hard work and dedication.”

This important 100-point score crowns Viñedo Chadwick’s highly successful history as a world-class wine achieved through a passionate commitment to quality, perseverance and constant quest of the pure expression of the terroir.

EDITOR’S NOTES:
The landmarks of Viñedo Chadwick’s history

Passion for Excellence

Viñedo Chawick represents a long cherished desire of the Chadwick family to honour the memory of the late Don Alfonso Chadwick Errázuriz with an ultra-premium red wine showcasing the ancestry, tradition and expertise of the Chadwick-Errázuriz family in producing fine wines reflecting the family’s passion for excellence. The aim is to make an elegant wine with freshness and purity, showing Maipo Valley’s D.O. Puente Alto at its highest level.

The first vintage of Viñedo Chadwick (1999) was released to great success in 2002, and its second vintage 2000 would write its own chapter in wine’s history, changing the opinion of the international critics towards Chilean wines and Chile as a world class appellation.

The Berlin Tasting: A milestone in Wine History

On January 23, 2004, inspired by the Judgment of Paris, Eduardo Chadwick and Steven Spurrier invited Europe’s most highly regarded wine experts to take part in a historic blind tasting in Berlin. The challenge was to show that Viñedo Chadwick and other Chilean icon wines, vintages 2000 and 2001, were at the same level of quality as the most prestigious wines of the world in their equivalent vintages, such as Château Lafite-Rothschild, Château Margaux, and Château Latour, all distinguished with 100 points by Robert Parker, as well as the Super Tuscans Sassicaia, Solaia, and Tignanello.

The result of this historic tasting proved to be a true eye-opener: Viñedo Chadwick 2000 was placed first, above the great wines of France and Italy.

This revolutionary event for the Chilean wine industry, known as The Berlin Tasting , turned out to be a milestone event for the Chilean wine industry and also elevated the image of Chile as a world-class appellation.

It was also the starting point for a series of 22 similar tastings led by Eduardo Chadwick around the world. From 2004 to 2013, more than 1,400 opinion leaders of the world’s wine industry blind tasted Chilean wines, including Viñedo Chadwick, beside the best wines from Bordeaux, Tuscany, California, and Rioja. The results were amazing. More than 90 percent of the time, a Chilean wine was ranked among the top three places, thereby contributing to demonstrate their consistent quality at the highest level.

The search for the True Expression of its Terroir

The Viñedo Chadwick vineyard around the family home had produced outstanding red grapes for decades and is considered the cradle of Cabernet Sauvignon in Chile.

It also owns a very particular history. In 1942, Don Alfonso Chadwick bought the 300-hectare Viña San José de Tocornal estate and its vineyards in the Alto Maipo Valley. The property was later divided and the family retained their family home and 25 hectares, including the family home and Don Alfonso’s polo field.

Eduardo Chadwick, foreseeing the potential of this unique terroir, convinced his father Alfonso to convert his beloved polo field into vineyards, and in 1992 it was planted to Cabernet Sauvignon.

The 15-hectare vineyard is considered one of Chile’s best terroirs for producing Cabernet Sauvignon of exceptional quality. It is located in Puente Alto, on the south-east border of Chile’s capital Santiago, along the Northern bank of the Maipo River in the foothills of the Andes Mountains.

The Mediterranean climate has a long, dry season, and rainfall is concentrated in the winter, while the high temperature oscillation between day and night is one of the main factors responsible for the intense colour of the wines. The alluvial soils of moderate fertility and high content of gravel provide balanced nutrition to the plants and excellent drainage. The cool morning breezes blowing down from the mountains, row orientation and moderate daytime temperatures allow the grapes to ripen to perfection while preserving their fruit intensity and acidity.

The 2014 vintage

After an extraordinary 2013 vintage, where elegance and finesse were the undisputed protagonists, it seemed difficult that Mother Nature would bless us with another great vintage, yet every season possesses unique climatic conditions and 2014 surprised us with exceptional wines.

The growing season began with some unprecedented frosts in mid September that resulted in lower yields and predicted a difficult Spring, yet conditions changed radically in October driven by a gradual increase in temperatures.

Summer started with a warm and dry January leading to an early and homogenous veraison along with healthy fruit conditions. A big shift in temperatures occurred from February onwards as temperatures began to decrease all through April, allowing the grapes to ripen steadily until reaching their optimum maturity level. The result of the aforementioned were wines with great tannic structure and depth, along with outstanding aromatic and flavor intensity.

Lower yields, dry overall growing conditions along with our constant quest for elegance, freshness and purity resulted in an earlier harvest. We started picking the Cabernet Sauvignon on March 18th, with some lots picked up to 15 days earlier than historical average thus maintaining the wonderful levels of acidity and with the vividly preserved flavors that characterizes this wine.

2014 will be remembered as an extraordinary vintage at Viñedo Chadwick that is heralded for its unique balance, fruit purity and profoundness

Recognition to the Quest of Excellence

Viñedo Chadwick has a long history of excellence since its inception with its 1999 vintage, and has consistently been awarded with outstanding scores by international wine critics.

Vintage	James Suckling	Robert Parker´s The Wine Advocate – Reviewer
1999	94
2000	94
2001		92 – Pierre Rovani
2003	96	91 – Jay Miller
2004	92	93
2005		95
2006	94	97
2007	97	97
2008	94	96
2009	94	93 – Neal Martin
2010	95	92
2011	97	93 – Luis Gutierrez
2012	97	92
2013	98	94
2014	100